I had the same problem after coming back to the game from a 2 year break. The game looked like it was downloading every time I started it, and it was taking hours to download.
I found the following link that fixed my problem (turned off bitraider):
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=674711
Really bitraider is ruining this game. The lenght of time it takes to start the game is a real turn off.
PLEASE FIX IT!!!
I played most of the other classes (Sith, Bounty Hunter, Jedi, etc...) and saved the Smuggler for last as I didn't want to spoil the fun when the game came out.
I'm torn between the GunSlinger, and the Scoundrel. Guess a coin flip should do it .